Spray nozzle



March 17, 1959 G. w. RIENKS 2,878,068

SPRAY NOZZLE Filed Jan. 7, 1957 v 2 Shaetg-Sheet i INVENTOR. George W. Rienks ATTORNEYS I March 1 7, 1959 G. w. RIEINKS SPRAY NOZZLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 7, 1957 INVENTOR. George W. Rienks ATTORNEYS United States Patent SPRAY NOZZLE George W. Rienks, Denver, Colo. Application January 7, 1957, Serial No. 632,908 9 Claims. or. 299-153 This invention relates to spray nozzles and more particularly to spray nozzles ejecting a directional, fanshaped spray of fluid in which there is a progressivelychanging volume of fluid emitted from one side to the other side of the fan-shaped spray.

In one form of the invention the spray nozzle is provided with a single narrow, tapered outlet for providing the gravitational settling elfect of the slurry. The cake of solids in the centrifuge basket is, therefore, difiicult to properly homogeneously wash. With the spray nozzle of the present invention, a spray is provided which may be constructed to emit an increasing volume of spray from top to bottom so that the cake can be homogeneously washed, and all the cake is substantially washed simultaneously.

Where the slurries being handled by such a centrifuge are foodstuffs, it is important to be able to quickly disassemble and clean the various parts of equipment. .Spray nozzles are particularly diflicult to service due to small openings, close tolerances, and the necessity of providing tight connections. The construction of the present spray nozzle is simple with a minimum of parts and the parts have a maximum of smooth, uninterrupted surfaces for easy cleaning and assembly. The parts of the device are arranged to fit together with a flush frictional engagement so that by properly machining the surfaces they may be held tightly together without leakage by pressure applied to form a contact seal.

Included among the objects and advantages of the I.

present invention is a simplified spray nozzle having a single narrow elongated slit for ejecting a fan-shaped spray directionally to the point of use. The nozzle of the invention, also, includes a tapered slit so that progressively increasing volume of liquid may be emitted from the nozzle passing from one end to the-other end ofthe slit. The device is arranged for easy assembly and disassembly, and the major components of the structure are arranged to fit together in a close surface, frictional contact forming a substantially leak-proof structure. The nozzle includes means for directing the fan-shaped spray at a predetermined angle for maintaining a precise fan-shaped spray.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention may be readily ascertained by referring to the following description and appended illustrations in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a spray nozzle according to the invention mounted for use in a centrifuge;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the spray nozzle of the invention mounted on a fluid conduit;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the spray nozzle of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the nozzle of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a detailed side elevational view of a spacer plate of the invention; 7

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the spacer plate taken along section line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of a dished cover for the spacer plate of the nozzle;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the body of the spray nozzle; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the spray-nozzle body taken along section line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

in general by numeral 2. The fluid conduit may be a swiveled conduit, as illustrated, for accurately positioning the spray nozzle in relation to the surface which is to be sprayed. The conduit may be any suitable type, and since it forms no part of the invention detailed description of the same is unnecessary. The spray. nozzle includes a tubular hollow body 3 having an open threaded end 4 which is arranged for connection to the fluid conduit, and an open threaded end 5 opposite the end 4 arranged for receiving a bolt 6 which is the means for securing the parts of the nozzle together. The tubular body 3 includes a lateral passage 7 through the side thereof. In the preferred form, the angle A is degrees; however, the angle may be suitably changed in accordance with a particular application requiring a different width of spray.

A division or spacer plate 10 is mounted on the body 3. The plate 10 is a substantially annular body with a opening 16 and having a segment cut therefrom leaving a wedge-shaped opening 11 therein. The segment is out along radial lines so that the sides of the cut determine the width of the spray. In one form, a segment is out having walls along an angle B of about 60. The angle, however, may be changed to one either larger or smaller to suit conditions of use. The spacer plate is shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6, and it includes converging faces 12 and 13 joining a narrow peripheral face 14. A dowel or pin hole 15 is drilled through the body adjacent the inner hole 16 of the annular body 10.

Arranged to be disposed on the spacer plate are opposed mirror-image dished covers. As shown in Fig. 3, a lower cover 20 is mounted on the body 3 with its dished inner face 21 in close contact with the face 13 of the spacer plate. A short nipple 20a extends axially from the cover along the body 3. Opposed is an upper dished cover 22 having its dished surface 23 in close contact with the surface 12 of the spacer plate. Cover 22 includes a short nipple 22a axially opposed to nipple 20a. One such dished plate is shown in detail in Fig. 7 showing the relationship of the segment 11 of the spacer plate in relation to thesurface of the cover. The lower cover plate includes a shallow bore 24, and the upper cover includes a corresponding shallow bore 25. Both bores 24 and 25 are arranged to receive and end of the dowel pin 15a for holding the two covers in annular relation with the spacer plate. By close tolerance machining and polished surfaces on the spacer plate and dished surfaces of the covers, a tight substantially leakproof connection between the parts is achieved.

In the assembled position, illustrated in Fig. 2,. the covers 20 and 22 are placed in position on either side of the spacer plate on the hollow body 3, the dowel pin being used to provide exact annular positioning of the three members. The bolt 6 is placedin the threaded ends and pulled tight tolform a face-contact seal between the two covers and the spacer plate. The spray nozzle is then threaded onto the end of the fiuid conduit 2 and a lock nut 31 is used-to secure the spray nozzle in position on the conduit. After the two covers are mounted on either side pf the spacer plate on the body 3 and the bolt '6 "is pulled tight, a small portion 33, shown in Fig. 4 is cut from the three members substantially along an eccentric line 34. 'The cut is made, illustrated in Fig. 7, using a radius of substantially the same radius as the maximum radius of the spacer plate on a center 28 spaced from the true center 29 of the annular members. This cuts a fingernail-shaped piece 33 from the peripheral edge of a portion of the nozzle. The cut starts at the upper edge 35 of the slot and extends annularly about 120 degrees. The maximum cut, therefore, occurs at about the lower edge 36 of the slot, when the slot is about 60 degrees long. Since the covers 20 and 22 include diverging faces from the peripheral edge,

the cut 33 produces a tapered slot, tapering from upper end to lower end 36.

In one particular form for use in washing the solids of a centrifuge, a spray nozzle having a peripheral di- 'ameter of about two inches is provided with an orifice or slot. area of 0.0567 square inch. This nozzle sprays about ten gallons of liquid per minute at 64 pounds per square inch. In this case, the orifice or slot has a width of about 0.0525 inch at the top 35 and about 0.0565 inch wide at the bottom 36. The nozzle, therefore, produces a fan-shaped spray in which there is a progressively increasing volume of liquid being emitted from a top edge to the bottom edge of the spray.

The simplicity of the design is such that all the contacting surfaces of the three members, that is the two covers and the spacer plate, may be accurately machined and smoothed so as to provide a seal between contacting surfaces without any intervening gasketing substances. This construction, obviously, produces an easily-cleaned device since there are no extraneous members to catch.

and hold foreign objects, dirt and the like. Also, the width of the slot may be easily varied by either varying the width of the peripheral face 14 of the spacer plate or by varying the width of the cut 33. Thus by providing various spacer plates having different widths of peripheral face 14, a single spray nozzle may be used for an infinite variety of volume flows or pattern shapes.

One form of use is illustrated in Fig. 1 where the spray nozzle 1, connected to the fluid conduit 2, is mounted in a centrifuge basket 40 which rotates in a centrifuge shell 41. The spray emitting from the nozzle is arranged to extend from the top to the bottom of the solids 42 in the basket. As the basket rotates the spray covers all the solids. Since the cake builds up more at the bottom of the centrifuge, the tapered orifice permits more liquid to be sprayed on the lower portion of the cake than at the top and thereby provides a substantially homogeneous washof the cake.

Since the segment 11 of the spacer plate 10 must match and be aligned with the opening 7 of the body 3, a witness line 45 is placed on the exterior end 4 of the spray head and another witness line 46 is placed on the boss 20a of the cover 20. The witness line 45 is obviously always alined with the opening 7 so that the three members of the nozzle may be lined up by means of alining the witness line 46 with the witness line 45. The witness lines, also provide an easy and convenient method of setting the spray nozzle in the spraying so that it will spray correctly the cake-in the basket.

In certain applications the tapered slit is not necessary for a spraying operation, and for such uses the eccentric cut is not performed on the assembled nozzle. A two inch nozzle, as described above, having a slot angle of 60 degrees and a uniform width of 0.020 inch provides a wash spray for a ten-foot six-inch diameter rotary, The fan-shaped spray effectively extends across the width of the'filter drum providin'g a satisfactory wash spra Other spraying a plications which utilize a fan-shaped spray may effectively use the present spray nozzle without the tapered slot, especially since a single nozzle may provide a variety of sizes and shapes of spray pattern by merely changing the width of the spacer plate or by varying the angle of the segmental cut to one greater or smaller than the described 60 degrees.

While the invention has been illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment, there is no intent to limit the invention to the precise details so described except insofar as set forth'in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A spray nozzle comprising an annular body having two converging faces terminating at an axial face, a cover on each of said converging faces in frictional sealing engagement, there being a segmental cut in said annular body extending radially forming a spray opening having converging radial walls and diverging axial walls, the body and covers having an eccentric periphery starting at one side of said segmented cut :and extending beyond the other side thereof, and means for introducing fluid into said annular body.

2. A spray nozzle according to claim 1 in which the eccentric periphery extends from one edge of said segmental cut to about 120 degrees in the direction of the other edge thereof.

3. A spray nozzle comprising an annular body having two opposed converging smooth faces terminating at a narrow, axial peripheral face, a cover on each of said converging faces in frictional sealing engagement therewith, there being a segmental cut radially in said annular body providing an opening to the center thereof forming a spray opening having converging radial walls and diverging axial walls, means for releasably holding said covers on said body, the body and covers having an eccentric periphery extending from one edge of said segmental out beyond the other side of said segmental cut, and means for introducing fluid into said annular body.

4. A spray nozzle comprising a hollow, tubular body arranged for detachable connection to a fluid-conveying conduit, there being a lateral opening in said body, an annular division plate having a radial segmental cut therethrough mounted on said body, said segmental cut being less than about degrees, said body being positioned to align the lateral opening therein with the se,,- mental cut forming an outlet for said body, said annular body having two converging faces terminating at a nar row axial peripheral face, a cover in face engagement with said plate mounted on each side of said plate forming with the segmental cut a spray opening having converging radial walls and diverging axial walls, means for securing said covers and said plate on said body, and an eccentric peripheral surface extending from an edge of the segmental cut beyond the other side thereof so as to form a circumferentially tapered spray outlet.

5. A spray nozzle according to claim 4 in which the segmental cut is about 60 degrees.

6. A spray nozzle according to claim 4 in which a witness line on said body and a corresponding witness line on one of said covers providesrneans for aligning the opening in said body and the segmental cut in said division plate.

7. A spray nozzle comprising an annular hollow body arranged for connection to a fluid conveying conduit, a portion of the space in said body having outwardly directed walls converging to narrow axial walls, there being an elongated opening in said body on said axial wall, and an eccentric periphery on said body intersecting said converging walls and extending from one edge of the opening through the other edge thereof and to a point on the periphery of the body so as to form a cirmumferentially tapered spray outlet for said body.

8. A spray nozzle comprising a hollow tubular-"body 5 arranged for detachable connection to a fluid conveying conduit, therebeing a lateral opening in said body, an annular division plate having a radial segmental cut therethrough mounted on said body, said segmental cut 9. A spray nozzle comprising an annular body having two converging faces terminating at a narrow, axial peripheral face, a cover on each of said converging faces in frictional sealing engagement therewith, there being being less than about 90 degrees, said annular body hav- 5 a segmental cut through one portion of said annular ing two converging faces terminating at a narrow axial body the sides of which extend radially outwardly, the peripheral face, a cover in face engagement with the segmental cut forming with said covers a narrow, elonadjacent face on said plate mounted on each side of said gated spray opening having converging radial walls and plate, a dowel pin extending through said plate into each diverging axial walls, and means for introducing fluid cover for maintaining relative positioning of said plate 10 into said annular body.

and covers, means for securing said covers and said plate in sealed relation, a witness mark on said body and a witness mark on one of said covers for positioning said segmental cut in fluid flow alignment with said lateral openings and an eccentric peripheral surface extending 1 from an edge of the segmental cut through the opposite edge thereof to a point therebeyond, so as to form a circumferentially tapered spray outlet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,619,382 Iepson Nov. 25, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 718,847 Great Britain Nov. 24, 1954 1,088,183 France Mar. 3, 1955 

